Sedna, the Inuit goddess of the sea, is smirking. That’s what polar travel is all about.

It sucks all the energy out of you when it is minus-40 degrees. You’re trying to get out of your sleeping bag and there is ice everywhere. Getting dressed . . . you really have...

We were battling a negative ice drift,

Suddenly, about two miles from the pole, we started to come across open water. One of the sledges ended up getting dunked in water, and some of the dogs as well.

We were really fighting until the end. Even so close to the pole, I wasn’t so sure we would make it.

Tränen sind sonderbar. Sonderbar, weil es Tränen der Trauer und Tränen der Freude gibt, aber sie kommen immer, wenn die Welt mehr ist, als man aushalten kann, wenn die Gefühle überfließen, wenn unsere Freude und...